Tuesday, 5 February 2019

Coupe de France, round of 16

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes

 FC Nantes - Toulouse FC  - Kick off at 18:30 CET

Buffeted by postponements and the tragic disappearance of Emiliano Sala, Nantes' schedule - which saw their Week 23 trip to Caen moved to Wednesday, 13 February - has been such that they go straight from Saturday's last 32 win away to Entente SSG into their last 16 clash with Ligue 1 Conforama rivals Toulouse in the space of a few days.

New signing Valentin Eysseric is tipped for a place on the bench but giant Malian striker Kalifa Coulibaly, who did the scoring against Entente, should lead the line, flanked by Gabriel Boschilia and Majeed Waris, as Les Canaris look to focus on football and honour their fallen comrade with a place in the quarter-finals.

Toulouse, meanwhile, recently became the first team to lose in Monaco all season as they fell 2-1 at the Stade Louis II and will be looking to for a cup confidence boost to help them break clear of relegation danger. there might also be a dash of revenge-taking on the cards, Alain Casanova's side having copped a 4-0 hiding at the Beaujoire when the clubs met in Ligue 1 Conforama in Week 10.

Stade Armand-Cesari, Bastia

SC Bastia - SM Caen  - Kick off at 21:0 CET

Like Nantes, Caen had the weekend off and make the trip to the Mediterranean island of Corsica fresh and chipper. Which is an excellent thing considering the intensity of the clash that awaits them at the electric Stade Armand-Cesari.

Bastia may be playing their football in the fifth division, but just two seasons ago they were in France's top flight. Demotion to Domino's Ligue 2 was compounded by an administrative demotion to the fifth tier for financial reasons, but they are still a proud club and will doubtless make Caen work hard for every inch.

Stade Henri-Seigneur, Croix

 IC Croix Football - Dijon FCO  - Kick off at 18:30 CET

Dijon looked set to turn their season struggles around when Antoine Kombouaré took over a few weeks ago, with a 6-3 hiding of Saint-Etienne - in Saint-Etienne - earning them their last 16 berth before a 2-0 win over Monaco pulled them out of the drop zone.

However, this mini-run was followed by a 1-0 loss to Angers at the weekend and Kombouaré will doubtless be looking to right the ship against fourth-division IC Croix ahead of a big league clash at home to Marseille on Friday.